A Night at the Apollo Theatre and Special Guests; Detroit Jazz Festival Act 2

A Night at the Apollo's Performance did not disappoint. Featured Music, I Got Yer Rhythm, Kendor Music Inc

Tanya Britt eyesonuphoto

A Night at the Apollo Theatre at Detroit Jazz Festival

Rating:

Star4

Star

Star

Star

Star

Spotlight on the performance of A Night at the Apollo Theatre with Special Guests; Detroit Jazz Festival Act 2

Tanya Britt eyesonuphoto

Detroit Jazz FestivalDowntown DetroitAdmission Cost:: Free

The Detroit Jazz Festival is an annual event that is free to the public. This review is Act 2 of my coverage of the Labor day weekend performances. You can find Act 1 of the evening by clicking here.

A Night at the Apollo Theatre was one of the opening Headlining Acts and I found the big band music and guests performers very entertaining. They put on quite a show; there were solos, duets, tap dancing, free style dancing, and great big band music. To enjoy the virtual experience of being there please click on the feature video/slideshow at the top of the article.

I rate the performance 4 out of 5 stars because it was very entertaining and it transported the audience back to a time of big band musical stage productions.

The following is from the official Press Release;

“Every year it’s our goal to bring a unique collection of world-class musicians to Detroit for performances you literally can’t see anywhere else, and I can say without a doubt that, again, we've been able to do so,” said Chris Collins, artistic director of the Detroit Jazz Festival. “This year, with our theme ‘Jazz Speaks for Life’ in mind, we sought musicians of all walks of life who weave deep, meaningful stories through their music. These stories are the root of what makes jazz a very powerful medium, and we are blessed to have artists perform that are able to express their worldly experiences through beautiful works of jazz.” - http://www.detroitjazzfest.com/pressrelease53.html

I would say that overall this annual outdoor concert succeeded if its goal was also to be eclectic. If you attended this past weekend to hear Jazz you may have been surprised to hear a little bit of Gospel, Country, and Rock. I would like to suggest a possible name change to Detroit Music Festival.

The Detroit Jazz Festival is an independent, non-profit organization that presents jazz and educational workshops throughout the year. Recently voted number two in North America in a JazzTimes reader’s poll, the Detroit Jazz Festival is the largest free jazz festival in the world and a major tourist attraction for the City of Detroit, with 23 percent of its audience coming from out of state.

The Festival receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Erb Family Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Kresge Foundation. Major corporate partners include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Opportunity Detroit, Carhartt and Mack Avenue Records. Additional partners include Absopure Water Company, AT&T, Comcast, Detroit Marriott, Fathead, Great Lakes Beverage, McDonalds, MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino Hotel, Panasonic, Greektown Casino and Quicken Loans. Media partners include DownBeat, Hour Detroit, JazzTimes, MetroTimes and Fox 2. The festival’s Greening Program, now entering Phase IV, is supported by a generous grant from the DTE Energy Foundation."

Please click on the hyperlinks/highlighted words for additional information.

Share this article

Tanya Britt makes her home in the inner city of Detroit, Michigan. Tanya is passionate about photography and loves nothing more than photographing the people, places, and current events, in and around the Detroit Metro area. Distressed by the mostly negative press on her city, Tanya makes a point of using her photography to focus on positive aspects of Detroit that are usually underplayed by mainstream News media. Contact Tanya at eyesonuphoto@yahoo.com.